


A string of words (I know I have already whispered)

by ShadowSelene (Shadowdianne)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-11-13 21:25:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18039326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowdianne/pseuds/ShadowSelene
Summary: "there are many ways to say I love you."Asked by anon via tumblr





	A string of words (I know I have already whispered)

 

The words echoed on Emma’s brain as she entered into the castle, the guards posted at both sides giving her a nod as she walked past them. Over the last few weeks she had been going there more and more, the short trip between Storybrooke and the looming palace one she already knew by heart. That day, however, as she had kept both of her hands into the steering wheel, she hadn’t been paying attention to the trees that curved around the road, the ever-present lush green of the leaves above her or the occasional figure of creatures such as fairies not really giving her that much pause as she thought again and again about the words that now felt thick on the back of her throat.

She picked up the stairs that would led to the throne room, her booted feet barely making any sound as she let the first string of nobles walk past her, their eyes going momentarily to her before they kept moving downstairs. They recognized her, of course, but aside from some polite smiles they didn’t turn to talk to her, their murmurs dedicated solely to the meeting she had known would be done by the time she reached the main room of the building. At first, the freedom of not being treated as royalty, as the savior anymore, had baffled her. Now, as she hummed and curved her fingers tight enough for the pads to touch the worn edge of her leather jacket sleeves, she could only feel relief in a way she made her already light steps turn into something even quicker.

_“Many ways, Emma.”_

Snow had said the words with a tight smile, the kind of one that spoke of a younger woman, barely a child, that had been taught on true love and fairy tales and despite Emma’s lack of such upbringing when her mother had said the words as Emma tried her best to explain the feelings she had been feeling growing far too strongly inside of her, the blonde had realized that, despite her usual obliviousness, her mother had known. Maybe, even, before she had.

She had gone to talk to her that morning, nervousness eating her insides, the memory of a kiss shared after the coronation fueling her however and making her lick her lips as if trying to chase a taste she knew wasn’t there anymore no matter how many times she conjured it up. After that kiss she had felt like dancing, but she had been far too scared; doubling, tripling the moments she shared with Regina, staring at Killian’s eyes and saying with a far too cold voice -reminiscent of her days as the Dark One- that they were over while still not fully understanding why; how, where that strength had come from.

And Regina had respected the silence, had welcomed her back again and again no matter how many times Emma dropped by, excuses of magical lessons, of wanting for Regina to meet Hope properly, of simply wanting her advice, getting weaker and weaker as the memory of the kiss simply took stronger roots within the blonde’s chest. Until she had felt like bursting and she had turned towards Snow, hoping, waiting, for the dark-haired woman to understand what she felt like she couldn’t.

But Snow had known, Emma thought as she finally stopped in front of the now closed doors of the throne room, the work on the wood, the filigrees, welcoming her sight as she stopped, one hand in the handle, the other crackling with unspent magic, Snow had known before she had said anything, the look directed at her similar to one her mind had tried to erase many times prior, words said as Pan’s curse came upon us echoing on their minds as the woman had drank her coffee in the middle of granny’s. And as that conversation echoed back between her Emma had nibbled at her bottom lip before croaking a small, simple question: How did you know?

Snow had laughed a little at that before settling back into a simple smile as her right hand skidded over the table between them, fingers curling around Emma’s hand and giving it a squeeze before she let it go. She didn’t have the magical abilities to sense Emma’s magic bubbling inside of her, almost breaking her skin, but the blonde could; the dirty-white hued magic reacting to the thoughts of brown eyes and purple power in a way she had become more and more accustomed to as weeks passed.

“You always had something.” Snow had said, her eyes glazed as she probably remembered many details, conversations, moments. The very same ones Emma had found her thinking about the first night she had heard Regina was back, her power around her once more after so many weeks of not knowing about her, about Henry, letting guilt override every other thought, the idea of how she should have gone with them eating her insides, carving itself into her veins. “You…” Snow had stopped and hummed. “You said ‘I love you’ many times to her in a way none of us truly saw until she left. And she also said it to you. You saved her, Emma, you trusted her, you pushed and pulled, you fought for her.”

“And then I stopped.” Emma’s voice had been dejected, bitter, and Snow had sighed and nodded.

“You were afraid.”

And Emma had wanted to scream at that, to growl at that because the reasons of her fear were many and some of them were tied to the woman she had in front of her; the fear of rejection, of not being the daughter she had wanted, weighing her down. Ultimately, however, she had nodded and stood.

“You think she will still want me to…”

Snow had laughed at that.

“She was willing to stop the coronation from happening because you weren’t there.” She had said, eyes twinkling. “Go.”

So, there she now stood, one hand pushing into the handle of the door, the other picking at the edge of her sleeve, the material warm and soft beneath her fingertips. She felt the nerves she had felt during the coronation all over again: The muffled sounds form inside the room had made her pause momentarily as Killian caught up with her, Hope on his arms and the pounding revelation that Regina was back the only thought Emma could truly think about as she, finally, had opened the doors, a smile -one that had appeared on her lips despite the remorse and guilt- already dancing on her lips.

A smile that didn’t quite appear this time as she finally pushed the doors open, the room empty aside from one sole figure standing in the right corner of the square-shaped room, a table with parchment and modern paper almost covering it all what she didn’t focus on as she walked inside, Regina’s eyes turning to her and widening in momentary surprise, her magic crackling and sizzling for a moment before she settled it. Like every time she walked in, as if waiting for something the blonde had painfully ignored as she tried her best to understand why, why after so long of feigning there was nothing between them the hundredths of “Hi” of root beers, of fighting for each other, of quiet moments, of promises made with a dragon hovering above them, of speeches made in the middle of roads, a sword on one hand and the inevitable doom of being about to die, it was now when she felt about to explode.

She could stop, a voice whispered in the back of her head. She could stop, and Regina would probably don’t pressure her. She, however, didn’t want to.

_“There are many ways to say I love you.”_

Snow’s words reverberated louder than the voice and so she walked towards Regina only to stop a few inches away from her, knowing full well that the brunette was looking at her with something close to interest and thrill. And Emma, despite everything, wasn’t entirely an idiot; she knew what Regina was seeing: the curled hair, the leather jacket, the pendant of the swan, the boots and jeans, the blouse… the blouse Regina had told her once that it would be the only thing she would get from her.

_“Many ways.”_

And everything had changed from the first time they saw each other, and Emma was not the same woman she had been in the same way Regina as also not the same but there was an echo there, an echo made of decisions and their constant, repeated decision of not listening to fate or prewritten destinies. So, rather than let fear win Emma closed the distance between them, her hands climbing up Regina’s frame, settling on her shoulders, cupping her cheeks a second after as she moved and tilted her head.

Despite that, it was Regina’s lips the ones that moved first, a hint of tongue on Emma’s bottom lip, magic crackling and exploding in a way that it didn’t involve true love but something different, something that was solely theirs. And as Emma basked into it she felt Regina’s hands on her back, fingers digging into the leather, pulling her closer.

When they finally stopped Regina’s eyes were colored purple and Emma could do nothing but laugh.

“Hi”


End file.
